Tiny Hands Come in Pairs

If the last few days are any indication, tiny hands maybe on their way to join precocious children and foreign accents as a Classic Spot Humor Device. Then again, it could be just a blip. Still, that two agencies on either sides of the earth--Sydney and Miami, respectively--have submitted spots featuring tiny hands within days of one another could hint at a coming trend. Or not. Up until now, small hands have been relegated to hushed conversations about escape artists and the trustworthiness of carnival folk. The jury's still out on whether using small body parts in spots will become common practice, but if we start seeing shrunken heads and tiny feet selling soda or cars, we'll know it all started here.

For Burger King's "Tiny Hands," Crispin, Miami and director Paul Hunter give us two football-throwing friends as they look to sooth some post-catch hunger. The small-handed fellow is humiliated and suggests McDonald's but his buddy with non-freakish appendages reassures him and comes up with a way they can both enjoy some flame broiled goodness.
From Down Under comes a spot by M&C Saatchi, Sydney for Herringbone clothiers in which director Garth Davis introduces us to Henri. Henri takes us through the lifelong humiliation that his "rare congenital condition" has caused him – no ten-pin bowling, horrid piano lesson experiences – all the way to his failed suicide. But it was in his darkest hour that he found his calling. Once he starts to sew, life improves and he is made a hero thanks to Herringbone.

Both spots touch on humiliation, fear of being different and eventual redemption. The lesson to be learned is clear – as long as you have a friend to feed you at every meal or develop a skilled trade, no one will notice your circus-like deformity.